


On the Brink

by viceroy



Category: Avengers (Comics), Daredevil (Comics), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Cheating, Depression, Dubious Consent, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Infidelity, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 16:49:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5171840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viceroy/pseuds/viceroy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt Murdock once offered to be someone to talk to when Hank needed to. It's time that he made good on that offer. Not a happy ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On the Brink

There are upsides and downsides to having a new city to call home, Matt was quickly discovering. The upsides were more readily apparent. Crime in San Francisco isn’t as obvious, true, but that was looking only as far as San Francisco itself. The Bay Area houses several cities, and Oakland could be just as bad as the worst parts of the Big Apple. Cartels were more open about their dealings on the west coast, and tracking drug rings to their sources much easier. Gang activity is decentralized, more often a corruption of old-style vigilante justice turned into eternal turf wars for burgeoning criminal enterprises. Finding out some ploy usually ended up with minor kingpins being arrested, and the Kingpin with a capital ‘K’ doesn’t really have much sway in the Bay Area. Not yet, at least. The best thing so far, though, is aiding the police and not having to worry about whether or not they were going to haul your ass in that night.

The downside, of course, is the relative lack of support structure. While Matt generally prefers working the nights on his own, finding yourself alongside the likes of Spider-Man or the Black Cat when the worst of the worst is happening is never something that you’d just turn down. Hell, he almost misses running into Castle on the worst nights, navigating the low and hit-or-miss structures of Oakland that may be in development one week and a drug warren the next, dodging the drones Stark has so readily employed with questionable legality through streets and rooftops one can only hope is drenched with enough fog that you can slip by unnoticed.

He never brings it up to the others, of course. They have enough to worry about with Foggy’s condition and the antics Matt’s responsible for in his public persona. All to protect them; from Owlsley, from Killgrave, from Fisk, from Ikari who he’s sure still lurks out there somewhere, waiting for his opportunity. From the Hell he knows is waiting out there somewhere, looking for the slightest slip up from any one of them. From Matt Murdock himself and the next tragedy that’s sure to overtake his life. If he can be strong, they can be strong.

Tonight isn’t so bad, thankfully. He’d turned in his findings for a homicide case in the area a few hours before, and now he’s just killing time, traveling from powerline to rooftop. It’s a rare quiet night, and he might actually turn in for the night. He should, really. There’s a trial waiting for him in the morning, and it’ll require his full attention and energy to maintain the cheerful and cocky demeanor he’s made his signature in San Francisco. No cracks. No slip-ups.

He tumbles over and onto the flat expanse of a shop long abandoned, if the general feel of the place is anything to go by. He stops momentarily here, catching his breath when his phone starts going off. “HANK. HANK. HANK. HANK.”

Matt frowns, pulling the phone out of his suit, letting it ring for a few seconds longer. Certainly, they’ve become familiar enough now that it wouldn’t be unexpected for Hank to call him, but the man’s strangely predictable when he’s in a proper mood. He tends to keep to himself without being contacted first, and respects the fact that Matt patrols unless it’s at Matt’s request to inform him of something, or unless it’s something bad.

In his confusion, the phone stops ringing, only to start up again almost immediately. He curses and answers immediately. “Murdock.”

“Oh, thank God.” The voice on the other end is feminine and worried and most definitely _not_ Hank. “I was worried you weren’t going to answer.”

“Who is this?” His voice raises only slightly, more serious than he was when he answered. “Where’s Hank?”

“Right, we’ve only met a few times,” the voice on the other end sighs, relaxes. “It’s Greer Nelson. Tigra? I help Hank run the academy.” Nothing in her tone denotes a lie, and it’s enough that Matt stands down from trying to jump down her throat like he was prepared to. It also explains why the voice isn’t that familiar. They hung out in different circles, and Matt was an Avenger only briefly. “Look, there’s something going on here and Hank told me to call you.”

Matt grimaces and mulls her words over, going over the tone again. She’s on guard. That much is obvious. Possibly scared, but it’s hard to judge over the phone. “Define ‘going on’ because if it’s Kang or something like that, there’s a reason why I didn’t stay on with the Avengers. Don’t you have anyone else in your rolodex?”

“No, it’s…” Greer grunts in frustration, and for a moment Matt feels a little bad for leading her in circles like he is. It’s just weird getting a call from _her_ from Hank’s phone. Her voice lowers, and Matt notices the background noises. There are people talking, though they don’t sound nearly as stressed as Greer does. “He told me that you’d know what’s wrong if I called like this.”

Matt stiffens and keeps the curse from spilling out of his mouth. “Yeah, right, I-,” Matt clears his throat. “Give Hank the phone. Let me talk to him.”

“That’s the thing,” she tells him. “I would if I could, but he’s locked up in his lab. He isn’t answering the door for anyone. He’s been in there almost two days, now.” She pauses for a moment, and when Matt doesn’t react she continues. “I don’t know how well you know about his past, or how much, but this is one of those signs, you know? And not one of the good ones, either.” She doesn’t have to elaborate. Everyone would know about the trouble that surfaces when Hank is in a funk. The only reason Matt’s stopped is because for a moment, it’s like he and Hank are connected again. He’s the one riddled with self-loathing and the need to fix things in the most pragmatic way possible.

He shakes his head out of those thoughts and finally responds. “Alright. Look, it’s going to be a few hours before I can get to the compound. Los Angeles is kind of-“

“Not a problem,” Greer interjects. “Where are you at?”

“Oakland. Like I said, it’s going to-“

“No, I mean what’s the closest address to you?”

Matt starts. “Right _now?_ ”

“No, genius. Ten years ago. My boyfriend is a super scientist. I have ways of bringing you here.” Matt smirks a little bit, despite the less-than-humorous mood. He can see why Hank likes her. He scans around for a second, mapping out the block in his radar sense before making to move to the ground below. Public identity or not, Matt’s been making life hard for criminals out here lately, and any one would love to have a crack at him unawares.

Satisfied that anyone nearby is too far to take him off guard, he tumbles down to the ground level of the convenience store and feels around for an address. When he finally does, he recites the raised numbers to Greer. “That work for you?”

Greer hesitates for a minute. “And this is in Oakland?”

“Yeah,” Matt replies. “When can I expect a pickup?”

“Right…now.”

Matt blinks. Shifts his head around and focuses on the noises and smells around him. Nothing. “Are you sure? I’m not-“ a sharp inhale interrupts his words, because in that moment, a rushing noise comes from the front door of the convenience store. It takes all of an instant, but Matt can still-

The space inside and around the door warps-

 _Tunnels_ -

-and settles. Matt’s radar sense reels as he tries to make sense of it. From the busted out windows, he can tell that there’s nothing amiss. Everything’s the same as it was a few moments before. The frame itself, though, shows more space than the store has to offer, tapering off into places that he can’t quite get a sense of. It’s there and not there.

“Well, are you just going to stand there with a dumb look on your face all night?” The voice comes from both his phone and beyond wherever this entrance leads. After a moment a new figure steps out, one that Matt recognizes just because of how different she is. It’s Greer, right in front of him, in the flesh. He wants to ask _how_ , but he doubts Greer would be able to answer that any better than he could.

No longer stricken, Matt moves toward her and past the threshold. He shivers as almost seamlessly his surroundings conform to what Matt assumes is the compound. Greer smiles sheepishly when she realizes why he’s so hesitant. “They’re called dimensional doors. They let us be wherever we need to, pretty much. Everyone’s weirded out by them the first time they walk through.”

“Right,” Matt nods his understanding. “Look, I’m not trying to be rude, but Hank?”

Greer shifts at the question. Her heart stutters for a moment at the question. “Yeah. Hey-“ her voice lowers as she leads him out of what Matt guesses is a control room and down the corridors of the compound. “We have students here. And I understand, this is his home, but…”

“You want to keep it quiet,” Matt finishes for her. “Don’t want them thinking their teacher really is off the walls insane, right?” His lips quirk, enough so that she can tell he’s joking.

“Nailed it.” Her tone and expression tell him that she isn’t joking. Matt’s smile drops. “So, just…talk to him, or whatever it is that you do. We need him back in one piece.” He chooses not to respond, and the rest of their walk is in a tense silence.

Finally they make it to a door made of solid steel and slid shut so that entry would be difficult for anyone. A panel on the wall slides open, and Greer presses a button. After a moment’s hesitation, she starts talking. “Hank? It’s Greer. There’s someone here that wants to see you. Can you open the lab?”

No answer.

Matt looks at Greer for a moment before nudging her mildly on the shoulder. “Do you mind?” She shrugs and stands aside, far enough that Matt can slide into where she was just standing. He presses the same button and starts talking. “Hank, it’s Matt. Let me in, buddy.” He pauses for a few seconds, and is about to talk again, when a radio crackle shocks them both.

 _”Just you,”_ Hank’s voice issues from an intercom Matt can’t pinpoint, and the door opens with a pneumatic hiss. Greer turns to him, her heart once again pounding, and Matt feels a little guilty. He shrugs apologetically and steels himself.

“I’ll see what I can do,” is all he tells her before he bunches his shoulders up slightly and makes his way in.


End file.
